AJ sighed contently as he lay on his bed in his apartment in Korea. Looking at the built-in camera on his laptop screen for the Skype conversation he was having with Jasmine, he grinned his infamous kitty smile. “I miss you so much.” AJ pouted with some added aegyo. Jasmine couldn’t help but cover her eyes and squeal.

                “Why do you have to do that to me, AJ? You know I can’t take your adorable cuteness in large quantities!!!” Jasmine peered out between her hands and stuck her tongue out at him. She pouted back at him and rubbed her eyes. She held up her index finger, motioning for him to wait a moment. Jasmine shuffled over to the kitchen and poured the freshly brewed cup of coffee into her thermos and mixed her concoction of creamer and sugar before stirring. Once she was satisfied with the taste, she screwed on the lid and made her way back over to her couch.

                “Coffee finally done?” AJ asked as Jasmine nodded.

                “Want some? Open wwwwiiiiiiddddeeeee…” Jasmine giggled as AJ obeyed her command. She pretended to pour some in his mouth, making both of them laugh.

                “How’s school going?” AJ said once they quieted down.

                “Okay for the most part. Won’t be long before finals start. This semester went by fast! How have things been since your comeback? How are things with uBEAT?” Jasmine criss-crossed her legs on the couch and took a long sip of her coffee, sighing at the delicious taste.

                “It’s going really well. Doing a lot of performances on Simply KPop and a few other places. Magazine shoots, interviews, and the like.” AJ beamed with pride. They chatted for a few minutes before an alarm went off in the background of Jasmine’s apartment.

                “Sorry, babe…have to get ready for class. Hope to talk to you soon!” She waved goodbye. They both blew kisses to each other and moments later the Skype call was disconnected. AJ exited out of the Skype screen and did a bit of browsing on the internet before finally calling it a night. After closing his laptop, he placed it on his nightstand next to his bed and turned out the light before slipping under the covers.

***

                A week had passed and AJ woke up bright and early on the 4^th of June. Another birthday had arrived and he felt quite content with where he was at this point in his life. He stretched his arms over his head as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. Reaching for his phone, his heart felt like it had instantly deflated as he read the message on his screen.

                AJ, I’m so sorry that I won’t be able to chat with you today. A family emergency came up and I won’t be in town for the next few days. I will contact you as soon as I can find a way. Have a great birthday and know that I’m thinking of you today. xoxox – Jasmine

                AJ pursed his lips together as his heart started to thump in his chest. He hoped that Jasmine’s family emergency wasn’t too serious. He sent a quick text back letting her know he got her message for when she would be able to have access to her phone. Sighing, he sluggishly got up from the bed and made his way to the bathroom. He tried to not let her message affect his birthday, but it was all he could think about.

                He had just gotten out of the shower when he heard his phone ring. He bolted for it, hoping it was Jasmine, but frowned when he saw Soohyun’s caller id instead.

                “Yeboseyo?” AJ answered, hearing a soft giggle in the background.

                “Seng il chook ha hamni da/Seng il chook ha hamni da/Sa rang ha nuen Jaeseop/Seng il chook ha hamni da!!” AJ couldn’t help but burst out into laughter upon hearing Soohyun’s voice on the other end. Instead of the normal tone that AJ was expecting, Soohyun had inhaled some helium from a balloon and sounded like a chipmunk instead.

                “Seriously, Soohyun? You’re too much. Thanks for the birthday wish. What’s going on?” AJ said, still chuckling every now and then.

                “How’s the birthday boy? Any big plans for today?” Soohyun asked, still having some effects of the helium in his voice.

                “Nothing really. Why? What’s going on?” AJ said with a sense of curiosity.

                “Well in that case, the rest of us plan on kidnapping you and giving you a birthday to remember.” Soohyun grinned into the phone.

                “Oh ho ho…really? How do you plan on doing that?” AJ smirked.

                “Simple…answer the door.” Soohyun stated. Seconds later AJ heard a knock on his apartment door. Shaking his head, AJ walked from where he was standing and turned the knob. He was instantly bombarded by the rest of U-Kiss. The only one who didn’t join in with tackling AJ was Hoon because he was carrying the birthday cake. Hoon waited until the commotion died down enough for him to have a clear path to the dining room table.

                “AJ, do you have a lighter?” Hoon asked after he made sure the cake was centered on the table.

                “Uh…I think there might be some matches in one of the drawers in the kitchen.” AJ looked up from his position on the floor. Hoon nodded and a few moments later held up the box in his hand. He motioned for the others to gather ‘round. All of U-Kiss circled the table and Dongho ran to draw the curtains in the living room to darken the room. Once they were satisfied with the dim light, Hoon lit the candles. Everyone whipped out their cell phones to take a picture before AJ made his wish.

                “I think this picture will be really good for your twitter status.” Kiseop exclaimed as he showed AJ the result. AJ gave a big thumbs up and Soohyun brought a knife from the kitchen to cut the cake. Dividing the cake into slices, Soohyun gave the biggest piece to AJ since he was the “birthday boy.”

                “I don’t know if I should have this big of a piece. I am doing my training to get into shape for the next two months after all.” AJ frowned.

                “Um…it’s your birthday. I think we can let this one time slide.” Dongho said as he stuffed a chunk off his plate into his mouth. He made a face that showed how delicious it was to prove his point.

                “Besides, I’m sure it’ll taste a lot better than the ‘chicken chest’ you’ve been eating lately.” Kevin chuckled as he nudged AJ with his elbow. AJ raised his eyebrow at him.

                “I’m sure it’ll taste a lot better than the ‘chicken chest’ you’ve been eating…” AJ mimicked Kevin with a high-pitched voice. Everyone burst into laughter, except for Kevin who was starting to blush slightly at having the joke turn back on him. “At least I know pizza has ‘flavors.’ Technically ‘chicken chest’ is the same as chicken .” AJ continued. A loud eruption of “OOOOOO”s was heard as the others pointed at Kevin.

                “Dang…we need to have birthday parties like this more often!” Dongho said as he polished off the last bite on his plate.

                “Don’t worry, Kevin, I’m just messing with ya. Silly fish,…you know this kitty still loves ya.” AJ wrapped his arm around Kevin’s shoulder and squeezed him close. He planted a humungous kiss on his cheek before taking his left hand and messing up his hair.

                “YAH!!! Aish…I guess I should just keep my mouth shut for the remainder of the day. Ugh.” Kevin mumbled. AJ hugged him again as Kevin sighed. “But, seriously, AJ…you should have a piece of cake. It’s your birthday! Never heard of a birthday person not eating cake…well…unless they had an allergy to it.” Kevin said as an afterthought.

                “Yeah…I guess you guys are right.” AJ graciously accepted the plate from Kevin. He was just about to take his first bite when Kevin put a ton of force under the plate, sending it flying up to his face. The cake connected with AJ’s skin and stuck as Kevin rubbed the plate around in circles. A loud gasp was heard in the room at Kevin’s attack. Once the plate had separated, AJ stood frozen in shock. He gingerly opened his eyes and around his lips. “Mmmm…not too bad. I would prefer to eat it normally instead of off my face, tho.”

                “Guess you had that coming to you.” Eli chuckled as AJ nodded in agreement.

                “Kevin you are a sneaky one.  I’ll give you credit for that.” AJ trodded carefully to the bathroom, with the assistance of Kiseop, to wash off the concoction of cake and icing from his face and neck. Because some pieces were strewn in his hair, AJ decided to take a quick shower. Afterwards, he joined the others on the couch and was able to partake in a real slice of cake. his spoon from the last bite, he relaxed after placing the dish on the coffee table.

                “Time for presents!!!” Soohyun called out, sounding like a little kid. The others jumped up and grabbed their gifts for AJ respectively. Fifteen minutes later, the gifts were opened and AJ had a pleasant grin on his lips.

                “Thank you so much, guys! I can tell you chose them all from your hearts. This is certainly a birthday I will remember.” AJ replied softly. The other members of U-Kiss bombarded him in a group hug.

                “I can’t believe you’ll be going back to NY next year. We’re gonna miss you. Have to learn all of your dance moves and rap all over again. Aish!” Eli pouted.

                “Hopefully you’ll be able to create a lot more fond memories while you’re there.” Hoon added.

                “Speaking of which, have you heard from Jasmine today?” Kevin asked. AJ fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat and Kevin wondered if he had struck a nerve.

                “She…um…she sent me a text while I was asleep saying that a family emergency came up and she may not be able to get in touch with me for a few days. I’m worried about her. I hope everything is okay.” AJ said quietly as he ran his fingers thru his hair.

                “Oh my goodness, are you serious? Well, we all hope her family is okay. We’ll keep her in our prayers.” Soohyun spoke up, patting AJ’s back.

                “Thanks guys. I’ll let you know what happened when I hear from her.” AJ replied. An awkward silence permeated the room.

                “Is it still okay to take you out for dinner?” Kiseop broke the silence.

                “Yeah…of course. What do you want to do until then?” AJ asked.

***

                “Oh man…I’m so stuffed. That was the best dinner that I’ve had in a long time! I know I’ll definitely have to do twice the workout tomorrow to make up for my indulgence.” AJ moaned as him and the rest of U-Kiss walked into his apartment.

                “And that is why I don’t work out…” Eli replied. Everyone started to burst out into laughter, but stopped and held their stomachs instead.

                “Can I die right now? I can die a happy man…” Dongho replied as he sprawled himself out on AJ’s carpet in the living room.

                “What are you? A human trash compactor? I have no idea how you ate so much!” Hoon said in reference to Dongho’s statement. Dongho just groaned in response. An hour later, the guys decided to head home.

                “I hope you had a wonderful birthday, AJ. Don’t party too hard after we leave.” Soohyun said with a wink. Soohyun gave AJ a hearty hug.

                “Happy birthday, Jaeseop.” Hoon grinned as he hugged him goodbye.

                “Hope you enjoy your gifts!” Kiseop smiled.

                “I definitely will! Thank you all so much!” AJ replied. Dongho was next in line, but Soohyun gasped and quickly closed the front door.

                “OMO! AJ…” Soohyun stuttered. AJ immediately turned his face towards the front door wondering what all the commotion was about. “T-there’s a girl outside your door. She asked for you. She said your name. I wonder if it’s a saesang…”

                “Aish! Are you serious??? On my birthday of all days…ugh. What did she look like?” AJ nervously said.

                “U-uh…she wasn’t Korean. She looked American, but she had this red hair…like RED hair. Uh…that’s all I really remember since I closed the door so quickly. Sorry…” Soohyun trailed off.

                “You don’t think it could be??? No…it can’t be. Let me see.” AJ strode over towards the door, but Soohyun placed his hand up to block him.

                “What if we all open the door and surprise her. She won’t be expecting it. We may scare her off.” Soohyun spoke a bit quieter, not wanting the girl to possibly overhear the conversation.

                “Good point. Okay on 3. Hana…tul…set…NOW!” AJ threw the door open, making the girl jump. However, AJ was the one whose jaw dropped to the floor.

                “J-jasmine???” AJ barely got the words out of his mouth. She nodded and grinned.

                “Happy Birth-….OOOFFFF” Jasmine was immediately picked up by AJ and spun around out in the apartment hallway. Dongho and Eli brought her luggage inside the apartment.

                “Wait a minute…how did…when did…AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” AJ screamed after they all had gone back into his apartment and shut the door.

                “I flew in earlier. Your manager picked me up at the airport. I had been planning this trip for a month or so. I cleared it thru Soohyun and everything fell into place. I sent you that text message because I didn’t know how else to explain not being able to respond to your messages…” Jasmine explained as AJ looked around the room. It seemed he had been fooled big time. The other guys knew about Jasmine coming over from Soohyun explaining it to them before they had arrived earlier that morning.

                “So how long are you staying?” AJ looked up at Jasmine.

                “Four days. I can’t take too much time off because I will have to get back to school to prepare for finals.” Jasmine tucked a red strand of hair behind her ear.

                “Well,…we’ll be leaving you two lovebirds alone.” Soohyun chuckled. The rest of U-Kiss waved and bowed to Jasmine and AJ before exiting.

                “I can’t believe you’re here.” AJ whispered as he got up from the couch. Once he stood in front of her, his hand reached out and tenderly caressed her cheek. Their lips met in a sweet kiss. AJ deepened it, making Jasmine moan softly against his mouth. Their tongues danced slowly against one another.

                “I can’t believe it, either. That was such a long flight. I was able to sleep once I got here, though. I know my internal clock is going to be so out of whack.” Jasmine said as she stuck out her tongue. “Oh, by the way…your manager said for me to tell you that you’re off of work until I leave. I believe he said that you had to show me the best spots in Seoul and make it a trip I would never forget.”

                “Really? Awesome! That’s fantastic news. Ooooo…we’ll have to plan each day then to make sure we get the most out of your time here!” AJ said excitedly.

                “So, what do you want to do now?” Jasmine asked as AJ got a devilish grin on his face. He easily swept her body up and took her to his bedroom where he gently lay her body down on his bed.

                “Welcome to my humble abode…” AJ beamed against her lips. They kissed once more and he hovered over her body as she let her fingers play in his hair and linger on his neck.

                “So this is what your full bedroom looks like. Very nice! I’m impressed.” Jasmine spoke once they broke apart from their kiss.

                “Thank you.” AJ replied as he let his fingers slide softly over her hair. “Jasmine, I can’t thank you enough for doing everything you did to visit me on my birthday. I will never forget this day…ever!”

                “Good…that was my intention! I love you, AJ.” Jasmine whispered.

                “I love you, Jasmine…always…never forget that!” The kiss they shared next sealed his declaration of love. Jasmine closed her eyes and reveled in his embrace, knowing that she was the luckiest  girl at that very moment.